Dust and Stone

Posted on Wed Dec 17th, 2025 @ 1:12am by Lieutenant Elsen Rava & Captain Cassandra Hawk

1,610 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Sheriff in Town
Location: Selat Minor, Moon of Trill

The dust was finer than Elsen expected.

Not the heavy grit she’d worked through on frontier worlds, or the stubborn, clinging sand of half-forgotten colonies, but something lighter. Older. It settled into the creases of her gloves and the cuffs of her trousers as if it had been waiting patiently to be disturbed again. She crouched at the edge of the trench, brushing it away with slow, practiced movements, careful not to rush a moment that didn’t need it.

The moon hung quietly in Trill’s orbit, close enough that the sky carried a familiar hue, distant enough to feel like neutral ground. The dig site itself was modest. No dramatic spires, no ceremonial grandeur, just the remains of low stonework and foundations that suggested people had once lived here without expecting to be remembered. That, Elsen thought, was part of the appeal.

She shifted her weight, feeling the ground respond under her boots, solid and reassuring. This wasn’t Starfleet work. No reports waiting to be filed, no timelines breathing down her neck. She was here on leave, officially, though her hands didn’t seem to know the difference. They worked steadily, gently uncovering a line of fitted stone that curved away beneath the soil, following a logic that felt quietly deliberate.

For a little while, there was only the rhythm of it. The scrape of tools, the murmur of conversation a few metres away, the soft awareness of Trill just beyond the horizon. Elsen exhaled, letting the stillness settle into her bones, and allowed herself to simply be present, exactly where she was.

It was a few minutes later when the stillness was cut through by the careful, but distinctive sound of footsteps approaching, the undeniable sound of gravel under boots.

Carefully making her way through the architectural site approached a woman, blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, with a long black duster flowing around her heels. Beneath the more rugged jacket, a neatly pressed Starfleet uniform with a red collar bearing four pips.

Captain Cassandra Hawk approached carefully, seeking to disturb as little of the heritage site as possible. She understood the value and fragility of such places and didn’t want to do any unneeded harm. She knew she’d be arriving during the Lieutenant’s leave time as well, and that too required careful footing. She approached, keeping to the clearly delineated path until she was in easy earshot, but not enough to disturb the woman’s work.

After debating the best approach to begin the conversation, she ultimately settled for showing interest in the ongoing work she was interrupting. “It’s an impressive site you have here,” Hawk said, breaking the silence in a calm measured tone.

El paused mid-motion, brush hovering just above the stone, before carefully setting it aside. She straightened slowly, rolling a bit of stiffness out of her shoulders as she turned her head to look back over her shoulder. Her gaze flicked briefly to the red collar and the pips, registering them in the same quiet way she registered most things, then settled back on the captain’s face.

“It is,” she agreed easily. “Though I can’t take any credit for it.” She shifted to one knee, resting her forearm against her thigh as she gestured lightly toward the exposed foundation. “The lead’s a civilian team. Rena Vosal. She’s been doing Trill domestic sites for decades. Knew my mother years ago. When this one came up, she sent a message before Starfleet even finished cataloguing it.”

There was no pride in her voice, just appreciation. The kind that came from recognising good work when she saw it.

“It’s early settlement,” Elsen went on, eyes drifting back to the stonework. “Nothing ceremonial. No attempt at permanence beyond what was necessary. People living here because it suited them at the time, not because they thought it would last.” She smiled faintly at that. “Those tend to be the most honest sites.”

She brushed a bit of dust from her gloves with the back of her hand and rose to her feet properly now, turning to face Hawk more squarely. Up close, the captain’s care with her footing didn’t go unnoticed either.

“You picked a good day,” Elsen added. “We’re just starting to see how the structures relate to one another. It’s been… quiet.” A pause, then a softer note. “Which I don’t mind.”

She inclined her head slightly, polite without being stiff. “Lieutenant Rava. I assume you’re not here to tell me I’ve overstayed my leave.”

The corner of her mouth quirked, just enough to take the edge off the question, as she waited to hear what had brought a captain out to a dusty trench on one of Trill’s quieter moons.

The Captain felt her own mouth curl upward at the question. "Certainly not in that exact phrasing," she replied, allowing the smile to form more fully. "Though maybe the effect isn't all that different."

She extended her hand outward in greeting to punctuate her next comment, shifting her footing ever so slightly to be a bit more upright. "Captain Cassandra Hawk, Starbase Mojave. I was in the neighborhood and wanted to ask if you'd be interested in ending that leave for an all-inclusive trip to the middle of nowhere. Heard you might be interested in such a thing."

The request she’d filed months ago surfaced all at once, the one she’d half-expected to vanish into the usual administrative limbo. So it had finally gone somewhere. There was a brief, unexpected tug of regret at the thought of familiar faces she wouldn’t quite get to say goodbye to properly on the Halcyon, but she set it aside. That was how postings worked. You learned to live with the timing you were given.

She reached out and took Hawk’s hand, her grip firm and uncomplicated. It wasn’t especially Trill, but she'd gotten used to adjusting to some Human traditions. “From what I’ve seen,” she said, the smile easing into place, “the middle of nowhere is usually where the interesting problems turn up.”

When she let go, Elsen glanced back toward the trench for a moment, the exposed stonework catching the light in quiet, deliberate lines, then turned her attention fully back to Hawk.

“I’ll need a little time to wrap things up here,” she said, settling into the practicalities without hesitation. “And when it comes time to travel, I’d prefer a shuttle, if that’s possible.”

She didn’t soften the request, but she didn’t harden it either.

“I don’t much like transporters,” El added simply, as if stating a fact about the weather. There was no embarrassment in it, no expectation that it would change anything. Just honesty. If the answer was no, she would deal with it. She always did.

A faint edge of humour touched her expression as she met Hawk’s gaze again. “All right then,” El said, the decision settling easily. “If you’re here to collect me, I assume the details are already in motion.” A brief pause, then a nod. “I’m in.”

"They are indeed, but I wanted to make sure you still were interested," Cassandra said looking out over the archeological site for a moment. I can certainly give you some time to wrap things up. As it turns out, you're not the only one I need to pay a visit to and you're not exactly in the same star system either. So I can give you some time to wrap up."

"As for the pick up though, I don't currently have a shuttle to provide, but I can more than accommodate your request to avoid transporters," Cassandra added, producing a datapad with a more detailed write up of Lt. Rava's pending orders. "As it turns out, my ship can land."

Elsen followed the captain’s gaze for a moment, eyes tracking the line of the trench before returning to the datapad when it was offered. She accepted it without hurry, skimming just enough to confirm what she already suspected. Orders. Real ones.

“That’s fair,” she said, nodding once at the mention of time. “I won’t need much.”

At the mention of the ship landing, she paused, just briefly, the movement so small it might have gone unnoticed by anyone not watching for it. Something eased in her chest, subtle but unmistakable. Not relief exactly. More the absence of a tension she’d already been bracing for.

“That works,” Elsen replied, looking back up now, a genuine smile finding its way through. “I appreciate the accommodation. I won't ask you to land the ship all the time.” she mused.

She tucked the datapad under her arm and glanced once more at the site, committing the layout to memory in the way she always did, even when she knew she wouldn’t be the one finishing the work. “I’ll let Dr Vosal know I’m stepping away and make sure nothing’s left half-documented. Give me a few hours and I’ll be ready.”

Her attention returned fully to Hawk, posture relaxed but settled, the kind that came when a decision was no longer hypothetical. “And… thank you. For coming in person.”

"Oh don't thank me yet," Cassandra replied, a wry smile reaching her eyes. "You don't know half the trouble we're about to get into. But that'll be half the fun. I'll have Achilles come down to the landing pad just outside of town. See you in a few hours, Lieutenant. And welcome aboard."

 

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